Wrexham opens next season versus ex-Premier League side Southampton

MANCHESTER, England (AP)– Wrexham will play relegated Premier League group Southampton in its opening game of the season.Wrexham will begin its very first campaign in 43 years in English soccer’s 2nd tier away at St Mary’s on Aug. 9.

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The Welsh team has actually taken pleasure in an incredible rise under celebrity co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. Just 2 years earlier, Wrexham was playing non-league soccer in England’s 5th tier.After three

straight promotions, it is one tier below the Premier League and faces a Southampton group that was rubbing shoulders with the similarity Manchester United, Liverpool and Toolbox last season.The game will be evaluated live in the U.K., another sign of the growing interest in Wrexham.Fixtures for the second-tier Champion were published on Thursday. Wrexham plays previous Premier League champion Leicester on Sept. 30. Advertisement It plays Ipswich, also relegated from the top flight last season, on

Nov. 22 and Sheffield United on Boxing Day.The Championship is renowned as one of the toughest divisions in soccer

. That was shown last season when Luton– in the Premier League a year previously– dropped down to the third tier after back-to-back transfers. ___ James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson!.?.!___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer